Court upholds arrest of cyber pundit

SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Thursday upheld a decision to arrest
an influential cyber pundit who allegedly spread false rumors that caused havoc
in the foreign exchange market.

The pundit, whose family name is Park but is better known by his Internet alias
"Minerva," was apprehended last week and charged with spreading rumors about the
government ordering seven large banks and leading trading companies not to buy
U.S. dollars.
Authorities said the unfounded claims by the 30-year-old, unemployed blogger
violated the country's communications law and cost the government US$2 billion as
it tried to stabilize the foreign exchange market.
Park's lawyers, however, argued that three days before the pundit made the Dec.
29 claim on the Internet, the finance ministry had actually summoned bankers
responsible for foreign exchange transactions and asked them to put off buying
the greenback.
Lawyers said based on the new evidence charges about Park spreading false rumors
were not true and asked the court to review the legitimacy of the arrest.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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